tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40458081124423557082017-05-10T18:45:46.567+01:00INDIA GREYIona Greynoreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-58163833476958819672014-05-09T14:16:00.000+01:002014-05-09T14:16:56.396+01:00Apple Blossom Time*(*In other words, a mighty long time since I last posted)<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I love this time of year. I would say it's my favourite, except that I suspect I've probably declared in previous Septembers, Novembers and Junes that Autumn, Winter and Summer are the seasons I like best (ie. whichever shiny new season is just unfolding.) But I really love Easter, and daffodils and forget-me-nots, and I love those few weeks when the evenings lengthen and are indigo blue rather than sullen grey, and when the blossom is out and it glows against the gathering dark, and when our garden actually manages to look <i>almost</i> nice for about five minutes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This year the season has been all the more special because amazing things have been happening in book world, and from now on I know I'll always associate pink trees and the scent of wisteria with the excitement, fear and amazement of selling my first longer-length, single title novel. In the two weeks leading up to easter my incredible agent (Becky Ritchie of Curtis Brown) was emailing daily to keep me updated on developments as offers came in, and the whole thing took on the aura of a pink-petalled dream. Finally, two days before Good Friday, a deadline was set and a decision made, and I can now announce with enormous pride and excitement, that Letters to the Lost will be published next Spring (also at apple blossom time) by Simon and Schuster under my new writing name of Iona Grey.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I haven't blogged much (at all?) about the book, which I wrote quite quickly last year. This was a bit because I didn't really want to admit that I'd set aside the one I'd been writing for such ages (which I did four days after writing <a href="http://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-gap-between-head-and-page.html" target="_blank">this post!</a>) and a bit because, following my failure to make that one work, I was far from confident I'd be able to do better with the next one, even though it felt like a joy to write. I'm looking forward to massively boring everyone about it when publication time approaches, but in the meantime I'll leave you with a little synopsis, and the link to my </span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/IonaGreyWriter/letters-to-the-lost/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pi</span>nterest</a> board. (How modern!)<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><i>Letters to the Lost is the story of how love can stand the test of time and death. 1943: In the ruins of Blitzed London American airman Dan Rosinski encounters vicar's wife Stella Thorne. It is the beginning of a reluctant, impossible, unstoppable love affair in which all the odds are stacked against them. In a time when everything is uncertain, their letters help them to hold onto the one thing of which they can be sure: their love for each other.&nbsp;</i></span></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">2011: Tia Moran stumbles on an empty house in her moment of need and it seems like a miracle. But then a letter drops through the door and she is drawn into the story of a love that has endured for over half a century, and the search for the elusive Stella Thorne. Can piecing together fragments of old lives give Tia a better understanding of her own? And can uncovering the story of a past love give birth to a new one?</i><br /><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">In other news, we've got a new kettle. An electric one, which is quite something as for the last four years or so we've been using a camping one on the gas hob (it's a long story...) And, with GCSEs starting on Monday, today is daughter #2's last proper day at High School (although I'm not sure 'proper' is the right word, given that it will mostly involve water fight</span><span style="font-size: 15px;">s and drawing on each other's school uniform). How can this be? Wasn't it only the other week that she </span><a href="http://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/holdiay-mode.html" style="font-size: 15px;" target="_blank">left primary school</a><span style="font-size: 15px;">? &nbsp;</span></span>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-4079168004110044102013-12-20T09:29:00.000+00:002013-12-20T09:34:29.575+00:00India's End of Term Report<span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em>"...India has enjoyed a mixed year in 2013. It is disappointing to note that her promises to do better in the field of physical exercise came to nothing and she ends the year as dismally unfit as she began it. She has also failed to improve her level of organisation and tidiness: not only is her desk an utter disgrace but also a potential public health hazard. (Given her total lack of aptitude in Biology, her excuse that she is studying the growth of mould on cold tea rings rather hollow.) Her personal presentation remains an issue, as the&nbsp;unfortunate postman will certainly testify. </em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em>Nowhere is her lack of application more notable than in the upkeep of her blog. This might be more forgivable if the posts she did manage to write were more interesting, and less centred on flimsy excuses for their scarcity.&nbsp;Disappointingly, her&nbsp;annual&nbsp;piece on Christmas adverts has not materialised, and&nbsp;the fact that&nbsp;she has made so few posts this year that one only has to scroll down the page to find <a href="http://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/a-bit-of-critical-media-analysis-for.html" target="_blank">the last one</a>&nbsp;is, frankly,&nbsp;little consolation. Although she did manage to attend the RNA Conference and the Winter Party she did not provide a report of either event, or any photographs. Holidays and 'research trips' have gone similarly unrecorded, giving rise to the suspicion that these have been little more than opportunities for more aimless loafing in alternative locations. </em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em>It is&nbsp;somewhat encouraging to note&nbsp;that the book she has&nbsp;been writing is actually&nbsp;completed and has been submitted (though one can only shake one's head in despair at the fact that is not the same book she&nbsp;blogged about in March, which was set aside soon after the post appeared). Her forays into Pinterest and Instagram are laudable, though&nbsp;rather dismal at present. (Since&nbsp;most of her&nbsp;Pinterest boards are secret, one has to question whether she&nbsp;fully grasps the&nbsp;concept?)&nbsp;Here, as in so many other areas India must try harder. </em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em>In short, India needs to spend less time gossiping on twitter and scouring the internet for 'James D'Arcy shirtless' and&nbsp;'Henry Cavill in&nbsp;a G.I. uniform' and more time tidying her desk and going to the gym. She also needs to understand that a day spent lying on the sofa reading other people's&nbsp;novels does not constitute 'work', in the same way that half a chocolate orange does not constitute 'fruit' (and cannot therefore be counted in the Five-a-Day total.) If she can achieve these things, and also expand her cooking repertoire beyond pizza, spaghetti Bolognese and chocolate chip cookies, there will be some grounds for optimism for 2014.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em>Wishing you all the very best for a hugely happy Christmas..." </em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(and lots of love to you all. See you next year!&nbsp;xx)</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;, Courier, monospace;"><em></em></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-35671212523098854382013-11-11T10:41:00.000+00:002013-11-11T10:57:11.233+00:0011th November<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OBslk8p708o/UoCyrbg79jI/AAAAAAAABKs/spb3zODGv-4/s1600/IMG_1248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OBslk8p708o/UoCyrbg79jI/AAAAAAAABKs/spb3zODGv-4/s320/IMG_1248.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yKbWP8UYlEI/UoCzoZwKzKI/AAAAAAAABK4/kGrlP9qoN2s/s1600/IMG_1257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yKbWP8UYlEI/UoCzoZwKzKI/AAAAAAAABK4/kGrlP9qoN2s/s320/IMG_1257.JPG" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I don't think there's anyone left to remember John Henry Skitt today,&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">so I'm doing it.</div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-45118390544069630672013-09-02T12:50:00.000+01:002013-09-02T23:08:04.516+01:00A Poem for September<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Or a bit of one. <a href="http://www.questia.com/library/1953230/autumn-journal-a-poem" target="_blank">Louis MacNiece's <b><i>Autumn Journal</i></b></a> is pretty long, very beautiful and well worth a read as the nights draw in (with the possible addition of red wine and maybe even cinnamon toast if, like me, you find yourself in the mood to go large on the whole Autumn Experience.)</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt61" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt61" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">September&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt62" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">has&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt63" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">come,&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt64" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">it&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt65" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">is&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt66" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hers&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt67" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whose&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt68" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">vitality&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt69" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">leaps&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt70" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt71" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt72" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">autumn,&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt73" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whose&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt74" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">nature&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt75" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">prefers&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt76" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Trees&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt77" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">without&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt78" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">leaves&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt79" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt80" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt81" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">fire&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt82" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt83" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt84" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">fire-</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt85" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">place.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt86" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt87" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt88" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">give&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt89" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">her&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt90" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">this&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt91" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">month&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt92" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt93" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt94" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">next</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt95" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Though&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt96" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt97" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">whole&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt98" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt99" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt100" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">year&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt101" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">should&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt102" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">be&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt103" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hers&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt104" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">who&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt105" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">has&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt106" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">rendered&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt107" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">already</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt108" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt109" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">many&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt110" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt111" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">its&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt112" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">days&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt113" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">intolerable&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt114" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">or&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt115" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">perplexed</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt116" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt117" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">so&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt118" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">many&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt119" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">more&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt120" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">so&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt121" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">happy;&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt122" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt123" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">has&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt124" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">left&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt125" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt126" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">scent&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt127" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">on&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt128" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt129" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">life&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt130" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt131" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">left&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt132" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt133" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">walls&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt134" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dancing&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt135" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">over&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt136" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt137" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">over&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt138" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt139" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">her&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt140" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">shadow,&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt141" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whose&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt142" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hair&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt143" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">is&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt144" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">twined&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt145" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt146" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt147" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">my&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt148" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">waterfalls&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt149" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt150" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt151" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt152" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">London&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt153" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">littered&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt154" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt155" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">remembered&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">kisses.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(I'd like to pretend I'm familiar with this poem from dusty university tutorials or because I have dozens of slim, well-thumbed volumes of poetry on my bedside table, but I actually came across this excerpt as a teenager in one of my all time favourite comfort reads, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Shell-Seekers-Rosamunde-Pilcher/dp/0340752467/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1378120845&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=shell+seekers" target="_blank">The Shell Seekers</a>.&nbsp;As someone who definitely prefers trees without leaves and a fire in the fireplace it struck enough of a chord to make me seek it out, and to add it to the list of Things I've Learned by Reading Romance.)</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Happy Autumn everyone!&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 15px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span id="hlt156" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(Honestly, blog posts. Like buses. Not a single one for 5 months and then 2 in the space of a week.) (Nearly.)&nbsp;</span></span></span></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-79871515131797817992013-08-23T16:50:00.001+01:002013-08-24T08:46:41.222+01:00Moving On (and Looking Back) Well. Gosh. Here I am. Five months - that's quite a long time, isn't it? Almost two seasons; long enough to encompass snow and heatwave in our eccentric British climate (I'm pretty sure we had snow in March this year?) Long enough to have celebrated Easter and a birthday, steered two teenagers through the white water rapids of Big Exams (or rather, watched from the bank, hands twisted in helpless anxiety as they steered themselves), had a wonderful time at the RNA Conference, indulged in fancy dress high jinks at our annual family get together, spent a glorious week <strike>eating carbohydrate</strike> in France, celebrated the results of the teens' exams, and almost written a book. (That last item probably needs expanding upon slightly at some point, possibly even in a post all of its own.) So, though five months is barely a flicker of the pulse of history, you can pack quite a lot into it; enough to make updating your woefully neglected blog feel like the labours of Hercules.<br /><blockquote></blockquote>While I may not have been posting, I've certainly been thinking about the blog. (Oh, how wonderful it would be if thoughts translated themselves magically into words on a screen.) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(But only if you had a chance to edit them first, of course. Otherwise it could get extremely messy and probably involve lawsuits.)</span> Although I'm deplorably bad at keeping it updated, I am very fond of it; the friends I've made through it and the record it provides of the last six happy and eventful years. (<a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/guess-what-im-doing-now.html" target="_blank">Highs</a>. <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/sad.html">Lows</a>. Books finished. Books that stubbornly <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/what-would-you-do.html">refuse to be written</a>. <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/seventh-book-itch-aka-theres-only-so.html">Heroes</a>. <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/once-upon-time.html">Idols</a>. Being <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/downtime.html">idle</a>. Domestic <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/hoping-for-return-to-squalor.html">triumphs</a> and <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/christmas-has-already-lost-its-charms.html">disasters</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;smattering of <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/philosophical-friday.html">philosophy</a>.) When I started this blog my children were twelve, nine and six, and so it charts the <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/birthday-girl.html">primary school years</a>, of Nativity plays and birthday parties and, in view of the fact that a month from now my eldest will be packing for university, I'm glad to have that record. (While being fully aware that it's of interest only to me, my mum and maybe my husband - if he actually knew where to find it.) <br /><blockquote></blockquote>But, <i>but.</i>.. even having said that, I somehow can't see myself returning to those far-off days of blogging twice or three times a week, and I've been wondering why that is. Maybe I've got lazier, or maybe my life has got duller and less worthy of recording (though a glance back into the archives substantially discredits the likelihood of both theories). What I know for certain is that a day when I blog is usually a day when I don't add much to the wip, and so I often find that I'm stuck in a spiral of blog-neglect guilt versus unmet-wordcount guilt, and that such spirals tend to lead directly to the biscuit tin. <br /><blockquote></blockquote>I think the main reason for the gradual falling off of my blog habit can be blamed, like lots of my other shortcomings, on twitter. Many of the staggeringly inconsequential things I used to put on here now find an outlet there and are instantly absorbed into its teeming depths. A quick glance at the list of blogs on my sidebar suggests that perhaps other people are doing the same, and that the gentle art of blogging, like letter-writing and taking afternoon tea, is being lost as technology gives us quicker ways to reach out to each other. One of the things I took away from this year's RNA Conference (in addition to a swanky silver bag bursting with books and chocolate) was the value of sites like Pinterest to authors, so I've revived my early, abandoned <a href="http://pinterest.com/IndiaGrey/">Pinterest interest</a> and made a board for my past books (in addition to the three boards of various things I'd made a year or two ago and kept secret, which is probably missing the point somewhat.) I haven't quite got the hang of it all yet but will probably get there, just as the bandwagon rolls out of the station and onto the Next Big Thing. Just in case that happens to be Instagram I'm there too, after some hard sell from the daughters who all love it. I kind of love it, though I feel a bit like I've arrived in my horrific pyjamas at a party full of luscious, pouting adolescents. If anyone else is on there, please let me know and I'll gratefully <strike>cling to</strike> follow you and try to work out what it's all about.<br /><blockquote></blockquote>So there we are. Moving on - to a new era of family life, in which daughter #1's place at the table will be empty *sniff* and onto new arenas for keeping in touch. The blog will definitely not be abandoned, but between appearances here there are other places where I'm likely to be found, dispelling any suspicions that I've given it all up to become a sheep farmer or have quietly expired over draft 392 of my book.&nbsp;(Which is, as I said, a subject for another time...)<br /><br />So, has anyone else made a brave foray into the worlds of Pinterest or Instagram? Did you love it and linger, or feel bewildered and bolt? I'd love to know your thoughts, and also any tips you might have on what I should do and who I should follow. (And I'd love to see your pins and pictures!)<br /><br />*<i>A big apology to anyone who read this post when it first went up, when the last paragraph had somehow been replaced by an erroneous link that had gone astray from further up. You see, I thought I was being terribly clever languishing on the sofa and blogging on an ipad mini, but it seems it was just too mini to spot the glaring errors. (Which reminds me, must make an appointment at Specsavers.)*</i><br /><br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-46863431218544124332013-03-22T12:07:00.002+00:002013-03-22T12:07:51.695+00:00The Gap Between Head and Page Last week (or it could have been the week before the way the time is playing evil tricks on me) I finally wrote a scene that has been in my head for about 8 years. It was a scene that came to me when I first had the idea for this book, and which kind of informed and inspired the way the story developed. Although much of the book has been written, then re-written in a slightly different way with the characters under different names, then re-re-written with the original names but a different POV and/or motivation, this scene was one I hadn't actually committed to paper before, and through all the huge changes that this story has undergone and storms it's weathered, the way I'd pictured it had remained pretty much unchanged; a solid platform of certainty in the shifting landscape of the story. &nbsp;I knew the circumstances under which it would take place, the three characters who would be in it, the setting, the mood and the way it would relate to what came before and after. I could <i>see</i> it - and I still can.<br /><br />So why in the name of the Easter Bunny is the scene I've written NOTHING LIKE THAT??<br /><br />It's all most unsettling. My very deep and emotionally loaded scene is now littered with other - very minor - characters, and instead of taking place in bleak, freezing February it's now June. The mood of yearning and despair that was supposed to pervade it has been replaced by a something less emotionally loaded, and whereas it was going to be the point where the dynamic between the hero and heroine really shifts, as it turns out they barely connect at all. Of course, as I write this it does occur to me that the changes I've made elsewhere were bound to have an impact so I suppose it's only logical, but it does still take me by surprise when the words I put on the screen end up creating a very different picture than the one in intended to write. Does it happen to other people, or is it just me?<br /><br />The upside is that all the emotion that was supposed to be in that scene, with its shadowy chateau and candlelight and scratchy gramophone waltz (though the music in my head was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1-mTcm3hY" target="_blank">this</a>) now needs to go somewhere else. And so a completely new scene is taking shape, with rosy apple orchards and syrupy sunlight. And the music in my head is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tByoi7Ir7RU" target="_blank">this</a>. (DON'T LAUGH.) Ho hum. Onwards and upwards.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-17978366211413110532013-02-27T17:05:00.002+00:002013-02-27T17:05:33.340+00:00Oh - hello!Happy new year, if February 27th isn't too late for such a greeting. I won't bore you with <strike>excuses</strike>&nbsp; explanations for my shameful blog absence, in the&nbsp;hope&nbsp;of&nbsp;giving&nbsp;it&nbsp;a little air of mystery and intrigue, suggestive of sojourns on far-flung shores beyond the reach of wifi, or exciting&nbsp;happenings too&nbsp;top-secret to share. Anyway, here I am - still alive, still writing (still in my pyjamas at midday mostly&nbsp;- although perhaps I should keep quiet about that in view of the mystery and intrigue thing.)<br /><br />Yesterday I managed to get changed out of my pyjamas before midday and put on mascara and decent underwear and head down to London for the<a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/index.php/news/entry/category_shortlist_announced_for_2013_romantic_novelists_associ" target="_blank"> RNA RoNA Awards</a>. I hadn't intended to go, being under a self-imposed ban on fun, frivolity and glamorous events, but last week (in the middle of half term, which might not be coincidental) I had a sudden craving for all of the above; as well&nbsp;as for the pleasurable ache you get in your throat and feet the morning after you've talked your head off in a crowded room for a couple of hours wearing high heels. It&nbsp;was a fab evening, and easily justifiable to my inner Writing Despot on the grounds that it&nbsp;yielded not only plentiful champagne, but also bucketloads of motivation from being surrounded&nbsp;by totally&nbsp;top authors&nbsp;(as well as the chance to meet the&nbsp;amazing <a href="http://www.susannakearsley.com/" target="_blank">Susanna Kearsley</a> in actual person, which was pretty overwhelming as I'd spent the entire journey down&nbsp;engrossed in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Firebird-The-Susanna-Kearsley/dp/0749012560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1361982704&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Firebird</a>. Honestly, at my age I really should be&nbsp;past blushing and stammering when I meet people, shouldn't I?) Because it was a fairly last minute impulse, I didn't stay the night in town, but if I had I would have liked to spend it <a href="http://www.athenaeumhotel.com/rooms/spacious-suites/" target="_blank">here</a>, which is where Abby Green and Heidi Rice partied into the small hours on the contents of a very luxuriously-stocked mini-bar.<br /><br />Anyway, the news on the homefront is that my book is coming together, though my computer is falling apart. Remember the <a href="http://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/i-think-its-called-progress.html" target="_blank">terrifyingly efficient Mac</a>? *hollow laugh* It is no longer presiding over my cluttered desk with its reproachful sleekness, but is in some repair centre in Warrington where, I was informed this morning, it might remain for another three weeks. THREE WEEKS? Do they not know that I've set myself a deadline of May for this book and there's still an awful lot of anguish to&nbsp;endure (both on the page and in reality) if that goal is to be met?? Of course there's nothing to be done (although the mini-rant on the phone was cathartic)&nbsp;except keep going - on scraps of paper, on the Fisher-Price netbook and the backs of envelopes if need be. Luckily I'm at the stage where the story is vivid and immediate and writing itself, which is just as well as writing is&nbsp;a bizarrely&nbsp;ritualistic activity; generally I need to be in the same place, with the same mug, the same scented candle, listening to the same music, <strike>wearing the same pyjamas</strike> for it to work.&nbsp;Though maybe that's not writing. Maybe that's just me. <br /><br />It's been ages since I posted any writing soundtracks, so here's a bit of the music I'd be listening to, if I still had my Mac on which to listen to it. As it is, you can imagine me humming it tunelessly as I scribble away in my cheap supermarket notebook.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/q0KZuZF01FA?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-89700212603671624472012-12-20T14:53:00.001+00:002012-12-20T14:53:33.064+00:00End of TermIn common with my children, I'm still technically working, but while they fill their days watching films in the classroom, most of my time at the keyboard is spent scouring the internet for out of stock Christmas presents I should have bought ages ago, and suitable alternatives. &nbsp;Given that I'm writing this at 2pm on Thursday afternoon and haven't opened my manuscript document since Tuesday I probably might as well give in and accept that the holidays are here.<br /><br />I've been a really rubbish blogger this year, largely because, without the rolling drama of deadlines and new books to start every 4 months there's not much to write about. The book I'm writing is slowly taking shape into something that I could just about imagine submitting, though it's not finished yet. In writing terms, 2012 has been such a steep learning curve I've needed crampons and a grappling hook, and although I've mostly enjoyed the climb I can't help hoping that 2013 lies on more even terrain. (Paved. With benches placed at regular intervals along it. And nice shops.) Anyway, thank you everyone for loyally checking in to read my sporadic and less than scintillating posts (many of which seemed to centre around not posting much.) If I could send you all chocolate I would, but as that's not possible I'm going to give you the emergency recipe for brownie in a mug that's got me through many a day when the words aren't flowing. Give a girl a brownie and she'll eat for a day. Give her a recipe for brownie in a mug and she has a failsafe fix for a lifetime of chocolateless afternoons.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fO92d0Q5wIg/UNMdarWF3HI/AAAAAAAABJI/yeVLT4ZdKKU/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fO92d0Q5wIg/UNMdarWF3HI/AAAAAAAABJI/yeVLT4ZdKKU/s320/IMG_0692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Chuck 2 tablespoons of plain flour, 2 of sugar (I like to use 1 caster, 1 soft brown) 1 of cocoa powder, 1 of vegetable oil and 1 of water into a mug. Add a drop of vanilla essence and mix it into a revolting-looking paste. Put in the microwave for a minute or so, depending on your microwave. (You might have to experiment a bit here, which is no bad thing.)&nbsp;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When it comes out it will still look revolting, but as you're not serving it to your mother-in-law that doesn't matter. Eat it standing up in the kitchen, with the addition of Amaretto cream if it's Christmas.&nbsp;</i></div><br />This has been our first Christmas for 13 years without nativity plays, carol concerts, the need to make 50 mini sausage rolls (<a href="ttp://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow.html" target="_blank">or cheese and pineapple on sticks</a>) for the class party or <a href="http://www.indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/if-i-ignore-it-maybe-itll-go-away.html" target="_blank">write a poem for the talent show</a>, so thus far the run up to festivities for me has been marked solely by... shopping. Oh, and cleaning the oven. However, now I have declared myself officially on holiday am going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching low-budget, made-for-TV tearjerkers and eat the Quality Street I bought for the bin men and forgot to leave out yesterday.<br /><br />Happy Christmas to all of you. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I'm wishing you love, laughter, hot baths and good books. And for the phone not to ring during the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey.Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-6138794402681464062012-11-19T12:12:00.002+00:002012-11-19T22:50:15.317+00:00A bit of Critical Media Analysis for your Monday MorningAt the start of the autumn I remember making a rather rash promise to come back and do a post on the orgy of pleasure and escapism (and, in this house, also of wine and Mrs Patmore-esque pudding) that is <a href="http://www.itv.com/downtonabbey/" target="_blank">Downton Abbey</a>. Its non-appearance is, in part, due to a bit of reluctance to tarnish the joy for American readers by selfishly spilling spoilers, but also (much less nobly) because I evidently go into a mysterious trancelike state the moment I hear the title music and&nbsp;the instant&nbsp;it's finished I can't think of a single critically incisive comment to make about it. I love it all, and even when I'm howling at the television and rolling my eyes, I'm still loving it (which admittedly might have something to do with the wine and pudding.) Anyway, am feeling slightly envious of you US gals who still have it all to come. Here, we're already looking forward to the Christmas episode.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Talking of Christmas, it's still only November but already the advert breaks are full of sleigh bell sound tracks and polystyrene snow. Happily, my critical brain is in fine form when it comes to this year's crop of festive supermarket offerings. Forgive me again, non-UK residents, for whom the names Morrisons, Asda, John Lewis and Sainsburys probably mean nothing, but the following clips will tell you all you need to know. Let's start with Asda, who this year have decided it's a great idea to get us lay-deez to spend our money there by reminding us that, on the great Downton scale of things, we are definitely Team Servants. And our husbands, of course, are Lord Grantham and Matthew and King George V all rolled into one. Notice the cheeky little line at the end from the humorous boy-husband...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/QiTuiYtaMV4?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(No, you may not have a proper seat at the table; you might get ideas above your station. Oh, and while you're down there...)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have a theory that Morrisons' creative team went to the same 'Feminism: Let's Pretend it Never Happened' seminar as the Asda chaps (and I bet they <em>were</em> chaps), but they were at the back of the queue for coffee and the biscuits ran out, giving them a darker take on it all. In their offering, our downtrodden heroine is not plucky and cheery about her lot. No. In fact, she is clearly a woman on the edge of doing herself harm and the whole thing looks a lot like an advert for a seasonal mental health helpline.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uk1F1uynims?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">('<i>I wouldn't have it any other way</i>.' WHAT??? &nbsp;You're not fooling anyone with that line. And PUT THE CARVING KNIFE DOWN.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">John Lewis are a definite cut above, darling, and their adverts are whimsical, high-budget and have great soundtracks. When I first saw this one I liked it, I really did. It has snowmen! And look, in snowman society the male of the species has reached a peak of evolutionary finesse way beyond human men, enabling them to go shopping! And yet... and yet... watch it back-to-back with the other two and don't you need to crack open the cooking sherry? It's all so... grim, this seasonal slog to equip ourselves with the trappings of festive overindulgence. You'd think these retail giants would have an interest in making it look easier, wouldn't you? I'd love it if John Lewis could produce a follow-up advert that showed the snow-woman whip out an ipad the moment her partner shuffles tortuously off into the blizzard, and order him something online.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0N8axp9nHNU?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Did you keep the receipt? I don't suppose you could take them back and swap them for another colour...?)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For me, Sainsbury's is the clear Christmas Campaign winner. Look, no tired stereotypes! Cute kids! Cute dad! And he allows the mum to sit on an actual chair at the table!&nbsp;I am filled with hope for Christmas Yet To Come when this boy will have grown into a man who knows how to work a dishwasher</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VW-9s8bDD78?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well done Sainsburys.&nbsp;And, as a reward I will do all my shopping with you this year,&nbsp;<strike>as always.</strike>&nbsp; So, tell me - do these adverts set your teeth on edge too or do you laugh in wry recognition (because you're less uptight than I am?) Have I spent too long at the keyboard and become and joyless overthinker?&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-81142706806841486242012-09-17T15:32:00.001+01:002012-09-17T15:32:29.236+01:00Lipstick, literature and a lovely weekend.Back at my desk and feeling rather deflated (though sadly only in an emotional rather than a physical sense) after a weekend of brilliant company, amusing conversation, culture, champagne and shopping. Friday saw the annual Mills &amp; Boon Author lunch, always a full-blown lipstick-mascara-heels event and&nbsp;a big gold-star date on my calendar. Travelling down on the train I tapped away at my laptop, enjoying the&nbsp;illusion of being a proper Professional Person, while trying not to bounce up and down on my seat with excitement at the prospect of seeing everyone and a whole day and night of&nbsp;behaving irresponsibly&nbsp;with&nbsp;Abby Green. <br /><br />Cool professionalism was further undermined on arrival in the room where the lunch was being held (feel the urge to refer to it as 'luncheon', which tells you what kind of room it is) by the&nbsp;pink goody bags&nbsp;at each place setting. As someone who, over the years, has&nbsp;spent vast amounts of cash and many late nights putting together pink party bags for mini-guests at endless birthday parties this was a most pleasing manifestation of karma, though I have to confess that nothing as generous or exciting as Laurent Perrier champagne, Hotel Chocolat Kir Royale chocolates, candles or pink moleskine notebooks (with M&amp;B logo)&nbsp;have ever appeared in a party bag of my creation.<br /><br />It was a fabulous day, ending with a lovely, champagne-hazy evening at the M&amp;B Author Toast (complete with dainty canapes,&nbsp;but no actual toast) during which&nbsp;conversation embraced such highbrow topics as&nbsp;The Actor Most Suited to Playing Christian Grey (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgrRNZJxJbc" target="_blank">Henry Cavill</a>, obv) and&nbsp;Preparations for Childbirth (which I'm not&nbsp;going to mention,&nbsp;for fear of attracting the wrong sort of visitor via Google Search).&nbsp;&nbsp;The following&nbsp;morning I met Daughter #1 from the train at Euston as she'd been shortlisted in a poetry competition in Peterborough that evening, which was a fine excuse for a day in London first. Given the purpose of the visit and her literary leanings she was keen to make a pilgrimage to Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, which supplied the cultural element of the weekend. Not only is she a talented poet, but she also has a prodigious skill&nbsp;in getting me to part with large amounts of cash, so after lunch I found myself in Topshop with my credit card in my hand. Seriously, the girl's a genius.<br /><br />The evening's poetry event was hugely enjoyable and inspiring, not only because Sir Andrew Motion was the judge and gave a reading, but also because hearing the variety of styles and&nbsp;approaches&nbsp;to the theme in the&nbsp;shortlisted poems was so interesting. Also on the judging panel was the super-cool Mark Grist, writer and performer of one of my favourite poems of recent years. Check this out...<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rWwXJT4LA5A?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(I like a man who even&nbsp;knows about&nbsp;the works of&nbsp;Jilly Cooper,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">never mind re-enacting the raunchy bits...)</div><br />Anyway, yesterday was spent sitting on draughty branch-line stations in the syrupy autumn sun and waiting for delayed trains and missed connections to get home. The days when this would have been an endurance test of endless games of I-spy and Hangman are still fresh in my memory, but it was actually a joy to spend time with lovely daughter #1 and talk about things we never get a chance to at home, where conversations rarely progress beyond the number of wet towels on the bathroom floor or the whereabouts of my Touche Eclat. <br /><br />Back at home the fridge was full (of slightly random items ordered by Him in the online shop) the fire was laid, and there was plenty of time to unpack, hug daughters 2 and 3 and chill the goody bag champagne before <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmPriD0z2sM" target="_blank">DOWNTON ABBEY</a>.<br /><br />(And that, ladies, is&nbsp;a whole new avenue of joy and the subject of a post all of its own...)<br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-57589174136584892822012-09-05T15:48:00.000+01:002012-09-05T15:48:10.411+01:00New term. New Start. New shoes.Daughter #3 left for her new school very early this morning (at least 20 minutes before her older sisters, who both go to the same place) looking unrecognisably smart and grown up in her new uniform and shiny shoes. Watching her go, I experienced one of those crystal-clear flashbacks that occur often in books but rarely in real life, of watching her walk down the lane to nursery in the autumn that she was 3 years old, wearing her purple coat and holding her daddy's hand, looking up at him. It caught me so off-guard I had to blow my nose hastily on a tea towel.<br /><br />So the plan was that the moment the daughters were all out the door I'd be up to my office like a rat up a drain, typing away frantically and trying to get down all the fabulous, sparkly words and ideas that have glittered in my head all summer when I've been far away from a computer. Instead I spent the first hour wistfully sorting washing and feeling teary-eyed and nostalgic for the happy weeks of freedom from routine and time spent with lovely people. This year we timed our own prestigious <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/end-of-summer.html" target="_blank">Family Olympics</a> to coincide with the similarly-named event in London, although as a member of Team GB I have to report that we didn't do nearly as well as the official team, despite my own gold-medal performance in the Sock Sorting event. After that, with scarcely a washing-machine-cycle's turnaround, we went off to St Ives, where the evenings were warm, the sea was clear and the surfers were plentiful. We'd chosen a house right in the centre of the town so the teenagers could come and go (and stay in bed) as they pleased, which seems to be the Shape of Holidays to Come. Am fleetingly sad about the passing of the sandcastle-building years, but on balance think that the going-out-in-the-evening and drinking-wine-on-the-beach years will have much to recommend them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-833MFpPYpUc/UEdYqJvtOhI/AAAAAAAABH8/dt-TLBR1yD4/s1600/IMG_0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-833MFpPYpUc/UEdYqJvtOhI/AAAAAAAABH8/dt-TLBR1yD4/s320/IMG_0127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UI_VblG5ohI/UEdZ3rikpII/AAAAAAAABIE/vDXDQ_huKeA/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UI_VblG5ohI/UEdZ3rikpII/AAAAAAAABIE/vDXDQ_huKeA/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Back home again, the days settled into an easy routine of waking early and writing before the daughters roused themselves from their beauty sleep. I've been writing something a bit different which has been both challenging and fun, which I usually find a contradiction in terms. (Not sure whether the fun element was due to writing in bed, which adds a certain holiday atmosphere. Also, on the downside, a certain amount of toast crumbs. Impossible to write without devouring mini-breakfast, to boost creative energy levels.) The afternoons were given over to entertainment and adventure, and a good deal of extremely messy baking, so that the kitchen has become so covered in drifts of icing sugar it looks like Miss Havisham's dining room. It was only the prospect of cleaning it that finally sent me hurrying upstairs to blow the dust off the computer and locate the 'on' switch... (after which I spent a pleasant hour browsing the internet for new shoes - which are surely an essential compensation for the end of summer and onset of autumn?)<br /><br />Hope everyone else has had a lovely summer and made a few more memories to add to the precious store we each carry with us. If there are any that you'd like to share I'd love to hear them...Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-11003191833384423612012-07-16T17:09:00.002+01:002012-07-17T09:31:26.241+01:00A Wonderful Weekend, and the Season of Last TimesAm in nostalgic mood after a weekend in Penrith at the RNA Conference, where I met up with a whole &nbsp;lot of truly lovely people - some of whom were old friends, others whom I was thrilled to be&nbsp;meeting for the first time. (That sentence is so grammatically correct it hurts.) Last year was my first so I'm still a Conference New Girl, but already it's become a highlight of&nbsp;my year. Where else would you be given free books and chocolate, educated, entertained, fed, motivated, inspired, hugged, and made to laugh and cry*? A&nbsp;ginormous thank you to all concerned for a fantastic weekend<br /><br />(*yes, Julie Cohen, I'm talking to you!)<br /><br />So, already feeling a bit emotionally brim-full, I've come back to a week of saying goodbye. On Thursday I'll be doing the school run for the very last time after doing the same route with daughters in varying numbers and of varying sizes since the last Millennium (September 1999, to be exact.) The Big School is within walkable distance of home, which is good news for the planet and our petrol budget, but I'm going to miss&nbsp;driving through the&nbsp;Cheshire countryside with the mist lying in veils over the fields, the cows telling us (through the medium of bovine body language) what the weather is going to be like, and the trees marking out the stages of the year&nbsp;(through the medium of Leaf). I'm also going to miss the school itself, and the fabulous people associated with it, who've taught each of my children to read (Number One on my list of Essential Lifeskills), taken them for their first nights away from home, looked after them when they've been sick, told them off when they've been naughty and generally made up for our parental shortcomings.<br /><br /><img height="353" id="il_fi" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Sound_and_District_Primary_School2.jpg/640px-Sound_and_District_Primary_School2.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="640" /><br /><br />They've been pretty idyllic years. I loved the small (non-iron) uniforms and the handmade Mothers Day cards, with their unguarded, from-the-heart messages (<i>You are the best mummy in the hole world. I love you millions</i>).&nbsp;I absolutely adored the Christmas plays and summer fairs (where I campaigned tirelessly, <i>tirelessly</i> I tell you, to be allowed to serve Pimms alongside the traditional tea and coffee) and harvest festivals and, although I grumbled at the time, now I think I even liked sitting on a chair seat half the size of my bottom to watch them. I loved the parents evenings that consisted of smirking over the things they'd written in their 'News and Stories' book followed by a quick debrief with the teacher. I loved the way they always came out of the classroom smiling, and chatted all the way home about stuff that had happened that day.&nbsp;The teenage years are exciting and bring many advantages, but&nbsp;you need the skill of an Enigma Code-breaker and the cunning of Hercule Poirot to find out a fraction of what they used to happily impart from the back seat of the car.<br /><br />Since the start of the school year in September I've&nbsp;found myself&nbsp;secretly and sadly&nbsp;counting down the Last Times: last Christmas play, last school trip, last Easter Bunny Drive. The past couple of weeks have brought last sports day, last Performing Arts Club play, last summer fair, and now we're down to last Monday and the final few grains of sand in the glass of the Primary Years. Must NOT weep too&nbsp;loudly and messily&nbsp;during the Leavers' Assembly and embarrass poor Daughter #3...<br /><br />(Plenty of time for that when she gets to High School.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-25502410973354253912012-07-06T13:55:00.001+01:002012-07-06T13:55:39.106+01:00Old Books, New Covers...<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><br /><br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><br /><br /><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div>This month I'm back on the shelves with new books that are actually old friends in disguise. And what disguises they are...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indiagrey.com/_images/book-covers/secrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Secrets" border="0" height="400" src="http://www.indiagrey.com/_images/book-covers/secrets.jpg" width="251" /></a><a href="http://www.indiagrey.com/_images/book-covers/champagne-summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Champagne Summer" border="0" height="400" src="http://www.indiagrey.com/_images/book-covers/champagne-summer.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Click for more info on Wicked Secrets" class="shadow" height="400" src="http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/images/books/covers/UK-0612-978-0-263-90200-6.jpg" width="250" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/Special-Releases/Champagne-Summer.htm" target="_blank">Champagne Summer</a> contains 'Tamsin' and 'Sarah' (who will both be extremely thrilled at their promotion to title characters!) from At The Argentinean Billionaire's Bidding and Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper. <a href="http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/Special-Releases/Wicked-Secrets.htm" target="_blank">Wicked Secrets </a>is my two Fitzroy books in one (rather beautiful) edition, and <a href="http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/books/Special-Releases/Secrets.htm" target="_blank">Secrets</a> (of the non-naughty kind) sees my Taken For Revenge, Bedded for Pleasure tucked in alongside Penny Jordan's One Night in his Arms. I knew that this edition was coming out, but wasn't prepared for the arrival of a box of books one rainy morning, and seeing the 'Dear Reader' letter she'd written inside. Needed a cup of tea and half a packet of Happy Faces biscuits to get over that, I can tell you.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's raining here. A lot. Came downstairs this morning to find the kitchen floor under 2 inches of water and Ruby the airhead cat marooned on the sofa looking alarmed. Just as well my writing room is up in the attic, and I'm in the middle of a scene set in high summer... (which is what this is meant to be, isn't it?)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-63438825102784858432012-06-18T11:32:00.000+01:002012-06-18T11:32:51.953+01:00A post in which I use a lot of CAPITALSLast week I had the pleasure of spending a couple of lovely days with Adorable Abby Green. She came to stay en route to a family wedding and we did some shopping, a lot of talking, some drinking wine at lunchtime (and at dinnertime, and for quite a long time before and after dinner, too), eating Irish smoked salmon and watching James D'Arcy in W.E.&nbsp;At one point, when enough Prosecco had been consumed to make such comments acceptable, she said to me WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST UPDATE YOUR BLOG?<br /><br />Now Abby Green is a wise and wonderful woman, and I never heard her give a piece of bad advice (except for 'I really think we should get another bottle'), so here I am, after almost two months, updating my blog. TWO MONTHS? How in the name of Cadburys did that happen? The last time I posted I was full of good intentions about nipping back within a couple of days with&nbsp;details of some of the cool stuff we got up to over Easter, and signed off promising to return 'once I've got some momentum going on the book...' (or words to that foolhardy effect).<br /><br />&nbsp;Ah. <br /><br />At that point my manuscript word count was standing at about 60 thousand words, many of which I knew were neither perfect nor in the right place in the narrative, but I planned to carry on writing until I reached The End before going back and rearranging them all until they resembled A Book. Head down, absorbed in the vivid story in my mind, I felt that this was a reasonably achievable goal. And then I stopped for almost two weeks over Easter (and actually left the house and talked to real people which, with hindsight, was obviously asking for trouble) and when I sat back down and opened the document I discovered that the beautiful, intricately-constructed story I'd left was actually the longest and most tediously dull prologue in the history of writing and that NOTHING INTERESTING HAD ACTUALLY HAPPENED. In 60 thousand words. Gah! WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME?<br /><br />OK, I thought, prowling around the house frantically searching for any stray mini-creme eggs the children might have missed on the Easter egg hunt; no problem, I'll just do some cutting. I can usually reduce my word count by a third just by curbing my adjective gluttony, so I figured it shouldn't be too hard to prune my rambling set-up and get down to some action. Except when I got back to my desk I discovered it wasn't quite that simple, and actually the whole story needed re-structuring. Worse than that, it desperately needed PLANNING.<br /><br />I'm a well-documented, dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying pantster, but once this fact had occurred to me there was no way of making it un-occur. So, first of all I retreated to bed for an hour and lay beneath the duvet shivering, then I got up, armed myself with a large pad of A4 paper, some different coloured pens (which served no practical purpose whatsoever but cheered me up a bit) and planned. Minutely. For about two and a half weeks.<br /><br />It was all most dispiriting. After weeks of noting down my daily word count in a tiny silver diary bought specially for the purpose, it felt like failure not to be able to watch the total creep up any more. The pay-off was knowing for certain that the book will be about a squillion times better (ahem... <i>once it's written</i>) and that writing it should be a bit easier with some kind of map to follow.<br /><br />That's the theory, anyway. Better get on with testing it out.<br /><br />Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-29201293152145456192012-04-16T20:28:00.002+01:002012-04-16T20:38:42.079+01:00SunshineThat's a very positive title for what was going to be one of my characteristically moany posts about sitting down at my desk and opening my wip document after almost 2 weeks away from it (on screen, anyway). However, the wonderful and eternally positive <a href="http://www.katehardy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sunshine-award.html" target="_blank">Kate Hardy</a> has tagged me with a Sunshine Award which has shamed me into being more upbeat. The idea is to say what makes you happy, so with a wonderful Easter fresh in my mind, here's a not-quite exhaustive list.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JUFbgo23lM/T4vf7gc3k1I/AAAAAAAAFpM/G24PLmRfkE0/s1600/apr%2Bsunshine%2Baward%252Cjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731921164175381330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JUFbgo23lM/T4vf7gc3k1I/AAAAAAAAFpM/G24PLmRfkE0/s320/apr%2Bsunshine%2Baward%252Cjpg.jpg" style="height: 280px; margin-top: 0px; width: 285px;" /></a></div><br />Chocolate, of course. And Prosecco at lunchtime. And family, obvs - both close and extended, and the glow you get when you know you have a stretch of long days and late nights together ahead. Changing seasons. Old china. Red gingham ribbon. Clean white bedlinen. Places where you can see the layers of history and sense the presence of people long gone. Junk shops. Book shops. Cake shops. Proper tea, properly made. Writing (when it's going well). Hearing the daughters laugh together. Old-fashioned perfume (so, nothing that smells of melon). The bittersweet feeling of reading a brilliant book and you can't stop but don't want it to end, either. <a href="http://www.clinique.co.uk/product/1605/15520/Makeup/Lipsticks/NEW-Chubby-Stick-Moisturising-Lip-Colour-Balm/index.tmpl" target="_blank">Clinique Chubby Sticks</a>. Woodland walks. Pina Coladas. Getting caught in the rain (hahaha - not really, I hate both of those.) Wellies. Pyjamas (not necessarily together, although sometimes, when camping.) New season English asparagus. Late-night impulse online shopping. Scarves, especially of a pashmina-y persuasion. The place where I live. <a href="http://www.elemis.com/Bodycare/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=30" target="_blank">Elemis frangipani body oil</a>. Baths. The apple tree in the garden. Toast and honey. Notebooks. Long lie-ins. Evenings at home on the sofa. Evenings out with friends. And singing loudly in the car, but that's my guilty secret, OK?<br /><br />Thanks for that, Kate - just what I needed to kick-start the back-to-work week. Once I've got some momentum going on the book again I'll be back to fill you in on what we got up to over Easter, which - stop press! - involved actually leaving the house! Here's a taster of what for... (one of the things, anyway...)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-iwNIBTCva0" width="420"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before I go, I think I have to tag someone else to give their Happy list. I'm going to ask <a href="http://sharonkendrick.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sharon Kendrick</a>, but I'd also love to hear what makes you happy. Bet there are loads of things I haven't thought of that I'll want to add to mine...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-40357841661426208722012-04-04T09:30:00.000+01:002012-04-04T09:37:50.992+01:00This Joyful Eastertide*It's been so long since I posted that we're&nbsp;now in a different season and a whole new time zone (or something), the snowdrops have given way to massive swathes of daffodils everywhere and&nbsp;Britain has gone from a surprise&nbsp;summer to the depths of winter again.&nbsp;Bizarre. I did intend to&nbsp;reappear&nbsp;before now, and&nbsp;in fact&nbsp;got as far&nbsp;as writing&nbsp;about the blackbird that insists on waking me up by imitating a car alarm outside my window at 5.30 every morning, but the clocks went forward&nbsp;before I got around to posting it and being woken up at 6.30 didn't seem&nbsp;nearly so&nbsp;worthy of sympathy.<br /><br />Anyway, apart from the season and the time and the flowers and the weather&nbsp;not much has changed here. I'm&nbsp;still buried deep in the book&nbsp;and my reclusedom reached new heights (depths?) when I decided to cut my own hair using a youtube video for instruction, rather than waste a whole morning sitting in the hairdresser's. It's not a bad&nbsp;effort, even if I do say so myself &nbsp;(although there's a good chance I wouldn't be saying it if someone showed me the back in a little mirror, like&nbsp;the hairdresser does). Less successful was my attempt at home colouring, however&nbsp;I believe that the two-tone, dip-dye look is pretty hot this season so I'm reassured that the few people I do see (the online grocery delivery man, the lady in the petrol station kiosk and&nbsp;one or two&nbsp;parents at the school gate who&nbsp;are as late picking up as I am) will be massively impressed by my up-to-the-minute look.<br /><br />Nothing much&nbsp;else to report. Have been watching Lord Julian Fellowes of Downton's most recent Sunday night offering, <strike>Drownton</strike>&nbsp; Titanic,&nbsp;but have to say I'm not blown away (or swept overboard) by it. The structure feels a bit too Groundhog Day-inspired, and the characters so flimsy that you quite expect them to be scattered in the icy waters at any moment, but can't work up much angst about it from the comfort of the sofa. If only he could&nbsp;have found a way of putting Maggie Smith on the ship, as well as Bates's scheming wife, and upping the quota of amusing one-liners. &nbsp;(Perhaps he felt&nbsp;the doomed liner was no place for an amusing one-liner? Shame.) I've also devoted a frustrating amount of time to planning a research trip to Northamptonshire/Cambridge in June, so would love to have draft 1 of the book pretty much nailed by then. It seems a little back to front to be writing first and researching later, but I think I need to get down what's in my head without being too troubled by trifling little details like reality. I've never written this way before and it feels frustratingly slow - I want the book to be finished NOW. <br /><br /><br />Happily, my brother and his lovely family are arriving for&nbsp;the weekend&nbsp;tomorrow, which has&nbsp;forced me to raise my head from the keyboard, buy flowers and&nbsp;clean places that haven't felt a drop of Flash since they came at Christmas, and has provided the daughters with a great excuse to give <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saved-Cake-Marian-Keyes/dp/071815889X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1333526183&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">Marian Keyes's Saved By Cake</a> a thorough road test. I love&nbsp;Easter, and not only because it means you can have hot cross buns for breakfast instead of boring cereal.&nbsp;Whatever you're doing this weekend, I hope it involves a happy amount of chocolate and cake, and not so much in the way of snow or hours spent in traffic. Happy Easter everyone!<br /><br />* <span style="font-size: x-small;">This Joyful Eastertide always makes me smirk because it's what Grace, the O'Hara's&nbsp;feckless cleaner in Jilly Cooper's</span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rivals-ebook/dp/B004H1TU90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1333527582&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Rivals</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">, sings at all sorts of inappropriate moments. *sigh* Sometimes I forget just how much I love Jilly, and then I remember all over again...(Virtuous cleaning intentions crumble to make more dust...)</span>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-89285991561386455542012-02-28T11:48:00.000+00:002012-02-28T11:48:41.778+00:00RIP Favourite Teapot<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q8EzGYLlNZU/T0y4I5gyhCI/AAAAAAAABH0/Lhbv9qIp_ms/s1600/P1020428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q8EzGYLlNZU/T0y4I5gyhCI/AAAAAAAABH0/Lhbv9qIp_ms/s320/P1020428.JPG" width="320" /></a>My passion for tea is well-documented. For the last 15 years my 10 cup a day habit has been largely serviced from a little blue-spotted tea pot, bought from <a href="http://www.whittard.co.uk/" target="_blank">Whittard</a> after my mum's very wonderful friend Judith initiated me into the magic of her Earl Grey and Ceylon leaf tea blend. It's had a place in the kitchens of three houses, been with me though growing and feeding two babies, saved my sanity on many long afternoons with small children, and been privy to more kitchen table gossip than I care to dwell on. It kept me going as I slogged through writing my first book, and bravely fuelled the writing of ten more over the years that followed. It was pretty battle-scarred, and latterly held together almost entirely by tanin stains (I hate to think what my insides look like.) Until I dropped it on Sunday evening, that is, since when it hasn't been held together by anything.<br /><br />Sniff.<br /><br />I have a replacement. It's probably a bit prettier, with pink roses that haven't been dulled with layers of tanin. But it's Just Not The Same.Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-36399629454174686042012-02-08T12:49:00.000+00:002012-02-08T12:49:19.377+00:00Hello from the Hermit's Cave<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Just thought I ought to stick my head out and let everyone know that I haven't frozen to death at my desk in my chilly attic study, or become buried under drifts of Kitkat wrappers and post-it notes. Or been bundled off to the asylum, hallucinating about being eaten by giant commas and question marks.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Having cleared my diary of all appointments and been <strike>rude</strike>&nbsp;ruthless in my refusal of all invitations to hang out with friends and generally do nice stuff, I am writing. It's a bit drastic, and not exactly a laugh a minute, but after a few months of distraction, displacement activity and being stuck at 25k, and with no official deadline to scare me into staying at my keyboard until the small hours it's the only way. And it is working. The <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.com/2011/05/dog-ate-my-homework.html" target="_blank">age-old Idea</a> is growing into a book, with proper chapters and some kind of structure (which will obviously need to be completely overhauled in the second draft, but la la la - what?) and Pretend World has conveniently swallowed up Reality in a way that makes writing so much easier.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">On the downside, squalor reigns on the domestic front, the daughters' birthdays are largely being sponsored by Amazon and Ebay, I have an ironing pile you could ski down, hair like Dumbledore (without the beard, thankfully)(I think - it's been a while since I looked in a mirror) and a wardrobe full of clothes that seem to have shrunk two sizes. And a long way to go until The End.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Oddly enough, I'm loving it.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-86411327771272975722012-01-20T12:10:00.001+00:002012-01-20T12:16:05.896+00:00Rich Rewards<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I don't need to tell you, dear blog readers, how long I've been <strike>stalking</strike>&nbsp;an <a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.com/2007/10/label-babe.html" target="_blank">active appreciator of James D'Arcy</a>. So, let's just say that the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLUt_6TIJ_Y" target="_blank">plentiful PR coverage</a> his new film is attracting is doing an excellent job of staving off the January blues. Here's the trailer.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4lNg0cm69xU" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-45702567548358663002012-01-10T12:40:00.001+00:002012-01-10T13:25:02.229+00:00Work AvoidanceI'm something of a master in the art of work-avoidance, but even by my standards re-designing my blog was a stroke of genius. It felt pleasantly businesslike, but involved little in the way of Thinking or Coming Up With Words and has yielded tangible and rather satisfying results. I'm not sure about the birds up there, but I'm pleased with the old-fashioned typewritery font. What do you think?<br /><br />What's next I wonder? Might look out some receipts for my tax return. Or research something.Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-62025828069290121652012-01-03T12:06:00.003+00:002012-01-03T13:03:18.691+00:00Sad.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">By now I’m sure that many of you will have heard of the death of Penny Jordan. She slipped quietly away in the last few hours of the old year, enveloped in the love of her family, knowing – thanks to her wonderful sister, who kept in touch with her friends throughout – how very much she was adored and admired and I’m very glad about that. But I’m still utterly devastated that she’s gone.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Quite simply she’s the reason I’m here, doing what I’m doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Without her I’d still be messing up people’s furniture orders in Laura Ashley, failing to work the till, feeling unfulfilled and frustrated and taking it out on my family. I'd still believe that the only skills I had (daydreaming and putting words together) were utterly unmarketable. Penny didn't give me a career exactly, but she gave me something far more valuable - the confidence to strive for one myself, and the self-belief that I could achieve things I'd always written off as being far beyond my reach. She made my world bigger and brighter, and she made me able to lift my head up and look at it properly. </p><p class="MsoNormal">I've often referred to her as my Fairy Godmother, such was the transformative effect she had on my life. She called herself my 'writing mum', which doesn't do justice to her shimmering glamour but is equally fitting. She was the first person I told when I got 'the call'. She was the person I talked to when I needed advice on anything from contracts to career direction, the one I shared champagne and chocolates with (at my kitchen table at 10 in the morning) when I won the RNA Romance Prize, the person to whom I dedicated my first book. It was Penny who inspired, instructed and informed my writing more than anyone else, who made me feel shy and awe-struck by her effortless elegance, her humour, humility and capacity for sheer hard work, and who gave endlessly without ever taking anything in return.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I will miss her more than I can begin to say.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-84286883649131648912011-12-23T22:41:00.004+00:002011-12-24T10:06:55.379+00:00You can't have everything...I've been a terrible blogger, and an even worse writer lately, but I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to know that this Christmas there has been no last-minute present panic (yet) or waking up in a cold sweat at 3am with the desperate realisation that tomorrow is daughter #3's Christmas play and I haven't yet started assembling bits of costume. This year, beds are already made up - with actual clean sheets - in preparation for the arrival of my brother and his adorable family and not only are presents bought, but also wrapped, hopefully meaning I'll be able to go to bed before the sky starts to lighten on Christmas morning. This year the fridge has been calmly stocked by a timely Sainsbury's delivery rather than a last-minute raid on the Spar shop in the late-night garage, and the chocolate-and-pizza-encrusted sofa covers have been washed. In other words, this year I am In Control of Christmas. <div><br /></div><div>It's all something of a displacement activity, of course. It's the season of angels and lighting candles and counting blessings and I am doing both of the latter, for reasons that will become clear in time. In the meantime I'm wishing you all the happiest and most peaceful of Christmases and the best and brightest of New Years. xxxx</div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-45688261153065698082011-12-06T19:16:00.003+00:002012-01-10T13:45:07.464+00:00And the winners are...The Oscars may have gold envelopes and perma-tanned celebrities dripping with diamonds, but on this blog we have to make do with an empty Rice Krispies packet and me in my pyjamas for the purposes of winner-selection. It's not pretty, so at this point you might like to imagine James Franco standing onstage holding my Rice Krispie box and reading out the following list of people who'll soon* be receiving copies of In Bed with a Stranger. Ok, so... The winners are...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 78%;">(suspenseful silence)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;">Jacqueline, Jo, Carol, Amanda, Jane and Amit.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 78%;">(thunderous applause. Kisses to the winners from JF.)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;">Thank you hugely to everyone who emailed an entry - the cereal box was fuller than ever this time and I'm so sorry I don't have enough books to send one to everyone whose name was in there. I really need to get my study tidied up so it can revert to its alternative incarnation as a spare room when my brother's family come at Christmas, so if there are extra books looking for homes I'll post them to the next names out of the box. (It's an indication of just how chaotic this place is that I don't have a clue how many books I have under the landslide of Christmas shopping, roll-wrap and miles of brown paper Amazon stuff into their boxes.) (Why do they even do that? It's not like books can get broken.) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;">On the upside, the absence of a pressing deadline this year has meant that for the first time ever I'm all over the Christmas thing. Oh yes. Only December 6th and I've actually bought more than four presents, though I must confess I haven't quite got round to handcrafting individual place-card holders from pomegranates, making my own Christmas Morning Clementine Marmalade or witty freeze-ahead canap</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;">és,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">proving that it's not lack of time that prevents me from being a domestic goddess </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 100%;">à la <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ4W1N3ALyU">Kirstie</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fx-Bs5JLMQ">Nigella</a>, but congenital slovenliness. Gosh - who knew? Anyway, my seasonal enthusiasm has been given a boost by sneakily deleting 'Now That's What I Call Xmas Volume 487' and all similar festive-pop-trash from every ipod in the house and replacing it with my new top Christmas album by <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Christmas-Emmy-Great-Wheeler/dp/B005X8V530/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1323198546&amp;sr=8-1">Emmy The Great</a>. Sadly my favourite track isn't on youtube for convenient sharing (apart from sort-of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfnP62BI_f4">here</a>) so you'll just have to take my word for how fab it is and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleigh-Me/dp/B006203PFY/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=music&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1323198601&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr">download it,</a> but this one's also excellent. Poor Mrs Christmas - like the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hR6O7VxKaQ">Military Wives</a> she does deserve some sisterly sympathy.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TRc0kBvVHRg" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;">In the midst of all this Organisation I'm not writing much, but I am <i>thinking</i>. A lot. And mentally girding myself to get this book written in a great big reclusive rush once Christmas is out of the way. (<a href="http://indiagrey.blogspot.com/2011/01/midweek-crisis.html">Because that always goes well, doesn't it?</a>) </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">*'Soon' being a relative concept, given the December postal service. Sooner, say, than it would take to travel to that new planet whose name I can't remember but which is 9 millionty light years away. Or something.</span></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-37262783952224335332011-11-21T11:48:00.006+00:002011-11-23T10:49:23.826+00:00Back to Books...In the same way that the UK is out of step with the rest of the world in terms of Downton Developments (sounds like a construction company) we're also a bit ahead in book scheduling, so I've been delaying posting about Part 2 of my duo until it was a bit closer to its US release date. It's still another month until <b>In Bed With A Stranger</b> hits the shelves on the other side of the Atlantic, but at least the first part of the story is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Craving-Forbidden-Harlequin-Presents-India/dp/0373130333/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1321876746&amp;sr=8-7">out now</a>, so it doesn't feel too premature to be talking about its follow up. I'll try not to give away too many spoilers!<div><br /></div><div>In the post I did on <b>Craving the Forbidden</b> I mentioned the minor panic I had when nearing the end about writing a sequel. At that stage, deeply immersed in taking Kit and Sophie to their grand Happy Ever After, the thought of anything jeopardising or undermining it was unbearable. And I hadn't really thought about what would happen in the second book either, or what could possibly come along to rock Kit and Sophie's love for each other. When it comes to writing I'm really not a natural planner, but the prospect of having no roadmap at all felt slightly insane, even by my standards. </div><div><br /></div><div>But then I realised that real life is like that all the time, and that if Sophie and Kit themselves had no idea of what storms that lay ahead there was no reason why I should. I also decided it wasn't a case of drawing out the conflict that had already kept them apart (any couple that keep going round in circles with the same old arguments without resolving them probably won't be getting a telegram from the Queen on their Diamond wedding anniversary) but at looking at aspects of their characters and their history that had the potential to develop into new issues entirely. The ingredients for the second story were all there in the first. Kit's (*ahem* - trying to avoid spoilers) family background, along with his unwillingness to show emotions were two areas that raised red flags for future peace and harmony, along with the chip Sophie has on her shoulder about her own upbringing, and a minor health problem that had been put into the first book for fun (and for the sake of realism!) From there, and with a desperate urge to get them out of Alnburgh and somewhere a bit warmer and more exotic, the story kind of fitted itself together . </div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't without its traumas though - mostly when I heard back from my editor that the ending I'd masterfully orchestrated needed completely rethinking. I love my editor and after five years of working with her I trust her completely, so once I'd finished sobbing my way through a whole box of tissues and eaten all the biscuits in the tin I thought about it and realised she was absolutely right. In my eagerness to tie up both books I'd brought back the alluringly red wine-and-Gitanes-infused Jean-Claude from the opening of book 1 to throw a spanner in the works, without pausing to notice that in doing so I'd made the conflict <i>completely external</i>. Duh! Schoolgirl error! Once I'd banished him back to his loft in Paris or wherever, Kit and Sophie were left to thrash it out alone. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm always going boringly on about writing to music, and the book started to flow much more easily once its soundtrack came together. It all began with this song, which really suited the happy/sad mood of the beginning when Kit comes home but communication between them stalls...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pO7i3Fc_pXI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also had to throw in a bit of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjHkj-uSt_Y">Sting</a> when the action moved to Marrakech (thank goodness Kit's mother hadn't decided to live in Margate) and this wonderful song, by Loreena McKennitt, which could have been written specially for one of the scenes in the book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qaPJRZxbjVs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Other songs in the constant loop on my ipod included <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyvA6lFdiWc&amp;ob=av2e">this one</a> from new discovery Maria Mena, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMsTSdHIJds">this one</a>, which inspired the scene on the beach. I also listened to<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AhU12zC8fc&amp;ob=av2e"> this song</a> a lot - mainly on youtube so I could enjoy the MV too (I thought I was hard on my heroes but it seems I have a long way to go before I'm playing with the big girls.) Finally - there's a tune that gets a mention right at the end, at Kit and Sophie's wedding. Knowing Sophie wouldn't walk down the aisle to anything traditional I thought for ages about what she would choose, and eventually decided that as she moved forward into her future with Kit, she'd want to embrace her past. So she comes into church to this tune. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GK4CzQ05wa4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have copies of both UK and US releases cluttering up the floor of my study here and since I can't write in an untidy study I could do with getting rid of some. If you'd like one just send an email via my website contact page, containing your postal address, and I'll pick out 3 Modern winners and 3 Presents winners. I'll put all the people who entered the last giveaway and weren't lucky back into the draw too (whether they like it or not. I'm bossy that way.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4045808112442355708.post-83990270698116016052011-11-11T10:35:00.005+00:002011-11-11T11:21:20.054+00:00My Favourite Remembrance Day Poem<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:180%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:180%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:180%;"><b>LAST POST </b>by Carol Ann Duffy</span></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:130%;"><i>In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:130%;"><i>He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.</i></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:130%;">If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin<br />that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud…<br />but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood<br />run upwards from the slime into its wounds;<br />see lines and lines of British boys rewind<br />back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home-<br />mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers<br />not entering the story now<br />to die and die and die.<br />Dulce- No- Decorum- No- Pro patria mori.<br />You walk away.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:130%;">You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)<br />like all your mates do too-<br />Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert-<br />and light a cigarette.<br />There's coffee in the square,<br />warm French bread<br />and all those thousands dead<br />are shaking dried mud from their hair<br />and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,<br />a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released<br />from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:130%;">You lean against a wall,<br />your several million lives still possible<br />and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.<br />You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.<br />If poetry could truly tell it backwards,<br />then it would.</span></p><br /></span></div>Iona Greyhttps://plus.google.com/101552515201664450918noreply@blogger.com3